Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed separate legislation designed to combat spyware and the illegal online swapping of copyright material. One bill requires people who share movies, videos and recordings on file-sharing services to provide their e-mail or physical addresses, while the other bans unauthorized installation of spyware on individual computers.
But questions abound about the enforceability of both. Sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America, the file-sharing law authorizes fines up to $2,500 and a year in county jail. The San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation believes that to the extent the law does get enforced, "it becomes more dangerous." "Every time a 14-year-old girl trades a song file and has to include her true address, that"s a target for a stalker," EFF policy analyst Annalee Newitz said.
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